http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1108249810907&call_pageid=969907739730&col=970081600908I just posted this in Saturday's thread, but it probably belongs here:

This is part of a story written in 1985 posted on Athletic's Nation (when Canseco was playing in AAA). Seems pretty clear when he started on the juice.....

Canseco had hit a combined 31 home runs during his first three years in the Minor Leagues, but now, in just one season, he's hit 36. The former 15th-round draft pick out of Coral Park High in Miami, who back in 1982 was a slender 6-feet-2-inches and only 170 pounds, had transformed himself. Only three years later, Canseco had grown an inch and now sported 230 pounds of rock-hard muscle. It seemed as though his bulging arms were going to burst out of his uniform

Ooh, Mike Green, good idea ... here's a quick first whack at an All-Valentine's Day Hall of Names team. That's just off the top of my head ... surely we can do better! Who's missing? No limiting rules this time -- first names and nicknames are OK here.

Now that the NHL has finalized the digging of their grave, I will be interested to see fan turnout minus the Maple Leafs factor/excuse this season. Will attendance increase with no Leafs to watch? Will it be significant?

It doesn't really matter when Canseco started juicing, but here's his complete major and minor league record. He hit 2 homers in 57 ABs in rookie ball in 1982, then 11 homers in 197 ABs in low-A ball in 1983, and then 15 homers in 410 ABs in high A ball in 1984. I'd say that he was a power hitter from the get-go.

When he was drafted in 1984, he was a month shy of his 18th birthday. A good part of the weight gain (and all of the height gain) would be perfectly normal.

Good ones, guys ... the team already has a couple of HOFers and several other All-Stars ... we're getting near a full roster, though a backup C and some additional pitching would be nice, and I'm sure that lineup can be better

The following has no scientific basis whatsoever, but does anyone feel that Canseco could actually be overstating the role steroids played in his success to better besmirch the reputation of any number of players not deemed pariahs by both organized baseball and fandom in general?

He seems to have decided that there is more upside to harming the reputation of others than there is downside to worsening his own. Such is the conviction of his vendetta, I guess. And the fastest path to a dollar.

Anybody else out there wonder what happened to those free agents of last year that outpriced themselves of a job? I'm specifically thinking of those guys that unofficially retired, without announcing retirement. Chuck Finley, Chuck Knoblauch come to mind, I think there were a few others.

It seemed they were unwilling to play for less than $1M, and teams were unwilling to pay the $5M+ they had been used to...so they ended up not playing at all. Strange...

This is just a note to let you know that we're closing down Batter's Box for about a week for an upgrade and relaunch. Threads will be shut down and comments disabled during that time, to make the transition from the old Box to the new Box easier. We tentatively project a relaunch date of Saturday, February 19. For more information, please refer to the front-page story "Batter's Box is Relaunching." Thanks!